Moderate to major flooding of the Ohio River occurred. States of emergency were declared in McCracken, Livingston, Union, and Henderson Counties. Floodfighting activities included the construction of temporary sandbag levees. Isolated evacuations of some lowland residents were conducted. In Henderson County, five families from the Spottsville area were evacuated, and the county rescue squad evacuated two residences. Isolated homes were surrounded by water and accessible only by boat. A trailer home was flooded in Henderson County. In Union County, 13 families were evacuated, including three on the Tradewater River in Sturgis. Several homes outside the Uniontown floodwall were accessible only by boat. In Crittenden County, the community of Tolu was threatened, and the ferry to Cave-In-Rock, Illinois was shut down due to extensive flooding of Kentucky Highway 91. In Livingston County, homes were threatened in Birdsville, and a few homes were surrounded by water in Ledbetter. The Livingston County Red Cross sheltered one family. In western McCracken County, six homes were threatened, and they were protected with sandbags. All along the Ohio River, dozens of roadways were closed, the largest of which was U.S. Highway 60 eastbound through Smithland, where a sandbag levee was built over one lane. In Henderson County, nearly 100 miles of roads were flooded, affecting about 1,200 households. A dozen roads in Crittenden County were closed or threatened by the flooding. In Livingston County, a total of 25 roads were closed. Portions of five roads in Ballard County were flooded, but no residences were affected there. Only a few roads were closed in McCracken County. In Daviess County, at least 22 county roads were flooded along the Ohio River and Panther Creek, a tributary of the Ohio. Most of the closed roads across the region were rural county and state roads. At the city of Paducah's floodwall, fourteen flood gates were closed, the first time since 1997 that any gates were closed. This Ohio River flood crest was lower than in March of 1997, when the last major flood occurred. The river crested at a height of 51.21 feet at Uniontown (Union County), compared to a crest of 53.84 feet in 1997. The crest at Smithland (Livingston County) was 47.20 feet, which compares to 51.40 feet in 1997. At Paducah, the crest of 47.90 feet was significantly lower than the crest of  51.79 feet in 1997. The dates of the crests were on the 16th or 17th at all sites. The monetary property damage estimate for this event is a guesstimate. The major flooding was partially the result of a record-setting snowstorm on December 22 that dumped from 14 to 22 inches across the Lower Ohio Valley. The snowpack, which contained liquid equivalents from 1 to 2 inches, melted rapidly by New Year's Day. A series of heavy rainfall events in early to mid January contributed to serious flooding. Average rainfall from 3 to 4 inches occurred from the 1st to the 5th. Another 1 to 2 inches fell between the 10th and 13th. Very cold conditions from the 15th to the 18th hampered flood-fighting activities. Low temperatures were around 10 degrees each day.

Flood in BALLARD, KENTUCKY
From 07-JAN-05 13:00:00 to 29-JAN-05 16:00:00 (CST)
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY

Flood in CRITTENDEN, KENTUCKY
From 07-JAN-05 13:00:00 to 29-JAN-05 16:00:00 (CST)
Property damage: 50K
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY

Flood in DAVIESS, KENTUCKY
From 07-JAN-05 13:00:00 to 29-JAN-05 16:00:00 (CST)
Property damage: 30K
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY

Flood in HENDERSON, KENTUCKY
From 07-JAN-05 13:00:00 to 29-JAN-05 16:00:00 (CST)
Property damage: 450K
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY

Flood in LIVINGSTON, KENTUCKY
From 07-JAN-05 13:00:00 to 29-JAN-05 16:00:00 (CST)
Property damage: 150K
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY

Flood in MCCRACKEN, KENTUCKY
From 07-JAN-05 13:00:00 to 29-JAN-05 16:00:00 (CST)
Property damage: 20K
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY

Flood in UNION, KENTUCKY
From 07-JAN-05 13:00:00 to 29-JAN-05 16:00:00 (CST)
Property damage: 250K
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY